Pocket Monster Researcher! (A Pokemon GO Fanfiction)
by goobycoolata
Summary: Gabby is just a casual Pokemon trainer, but Professor Willow wants her to be one of the best researchers on his team. Asking his apprentices to guide her, Gabby will have the greatest adventure with her new friends!
1. Start!

**A/N: heyo! Thank you for stopping by! As you can see this story based off of Pokemon GO. What you should expect in this story is how the Pokemon GO universe would play out in our normal world. The area I'm basing off the world is Northwest USA. I hope you understand the references I put in here and enjoy!**

My name is Gabby. You would expect me to be 10, but I'm not. I didn't get my Pokemon trainer ID that early because my parents would throw a fit. Even letting me at the start of adulthood makes them a bit upset. I've seen many people running outside battling each other screaming to be "the very best." I don't think I'll ever be that good, but I guess being a casual trainer who would just keep their monster as a pet would do.

We were in downtown Portland. My mom dropped me off at the Pokemon research facility. We had set an appointment to meet with Professor Willow in ten minutes.

"Call me when you are just about done," my mom called out from the car.

"Where are you off to?" I turned around to ask her.

"Getting coffee," after rolling up the windows she drove off. I faced the big facility. The iconic pokeball symbol gleaned in the sun. These are professionals studying Pokemon. It was daunting entering a building especially by myself. But heck, I'm an adult! …. Scratch that, screw adulthood. It's scary.

I enter the two front doors. I was greeted by one of the front desk workers.

"Hello, do you have an appointment scheduled?"

"Yes with Professor Willow," I was trying. In the back of my mind, I imagined one of my friends telling me that I was going to do fine. I hoped so. I could feel the looks of the people in the waiting area.

"Okay, let me notify Professor Willow... Alright, he should be ready soon, please take a seat."

The set up of the building was pretty and clean. A few plants were set up around. Also there was a tank of fish. I had no idea what kind of fish they were, but I was pretty sure that they were Pokemon.

"Gabby?" A salt and pepper haired man popped his head from the archway. I jumped to my feet. He walked into full view. I had to say, he was tall (actually a lot of people compared to me are tall. But I honestly could say that he was at least six feet tall), super handsome, and muscular. He stuck his hand out for me to shake. He had a strong grip. "I'm Professor Willow. Please, let's step into my office."

His office was just as clean and professional as the building itself. The framed pictures on his wall featured many beautiful places of the world. One of them showed a campsite with the stars glittering in the night sky. Typical Northwestern camper. The small picture behind him featured him with three other people. They seem to be in their early twenties.

Professor Willow pulled out some papers from his desk and laid them out on the desk.

"So I want you to sign these. Sorry that we had to start with the boring part but it has to be done. So tell me, why do you want to be a trainer?"

I began to sign the papers. I occasionally look up to talk to him, "I think it looks fun. Plus, I think it would be cool to have them as pets."

He had a look of slight disappointment on his face.

 _Uh oh, I said something wrong didn't I?_

"Aw I can't believe you think that! Pokemon are more than that! Well, I guess coming from a researcher myself I could say that."

"But they're just animals with powers right?" I responded. He smiled.

"That's right. But that's what makes them so unique. I want to know why."

After the discovery of the newfound "monsters" appearing in the world four years ago, several were wanting to get their hands on one. Scientists began to study these creatures. Some of them were getting to be dangerous to catch in one of the multiple ways to catch them, they invented the pokeball. The pokeball made it easier to keep. From what I heard was that Pokemon were converted into energy when kept in the ball. They also can shrink to fit in your pocket, hence the name. Research for these things went by so far in a matter of years.

"Ah, since you are on that page to sign there's a check box that says if you would like to contribute to the research check it and sign below that," he chuckled because he figured that this process was frustrating for most people. Why not, I went ahead and checked it.

"So if you are wanting to send some Pokemon for research just go to any Pokemon Center and shoot the pokeball into the chute. The staff will take care of it. In exchange you'll get candy which will help them to get stronger. Give them enough, they'll evolve."

This man was chucking info way too fast.

"Fascinating, isn't?"

I stared at him with a blank expression.

"Well Gabby, now we got this taken care of, let's head into the garden to teach you how to catch one."

"This place has a garden?" We began to walk down the hallway. Several scientists were carrying many Pokeballs in their arms trying to pass by to the next room.

"Yes we do! We also have a gym but only to test the Pokemon. We have multiple campuses across the world. There's another one close by Seattle. It's much bigger than Portland, they collect so many water types it's so unfair," Professor Willow grumbled to himself.

"But Portland is by water sir," I responded slowly questioning if remembered what the city is like. But he shook his head.

"The Willamette River doesn't have many diverse water types compared to Puget Sound. Only Magikarps... Here we are!"

You would think the forests of the Northwest were enough, but this garden was a different story. Lush, green grass were dotted with flowers. The cool breeze fell from the open roof. Trees that were not native from here reached toward the sky. Who knew how far this place goes. I couldn't see the other side.

Professor Willow handed over a large bag of small pokeballs.

"Here's some pokeballs for you to start with and a complimentary backpack. Make sure you push the button before you throw one, the shrunk size of the ball causes problems. So go catch a Pokemon and return here."

Dude I could get lost here! Why would you send me alone? After walking around a bit and checked some bushes a Pokemon appeared! Quietly I fished for a ball and clicked the button. The pokeball grew to fit my hand. I leaned back to get ready.

"Breathe Gabby, breathe," I whisper under my breath. My heart could not stop beating so hard, I can't believe I'm doing this for the first time.

I threw the ball with just enough force and exhaled. The ball bounced on its head and sucked it in. The pokeball rolled uncontrollably, the monster was trying to escape. With a final wobble, the pokeball flashed.

"I caught it? Holy cow, I caught it!" I picked it up and ran over the Professor Willow. "I did it!"

He smiled "Good! Now I want you to pull out your phone and download this app called the Pokedex. This is an encyclopedia for Pokemon so you can learn about them and help us on our research. Here, take out the Pokemon and register it into the Pokedex.

An orange lizard with a fire on its tail appeared from the ball.

"Charmander, the lizard Pokemon," the phone chimed.

"It's super cute! I love it!" I picked it up and held it in my arms. "I actually didn't see it up close, but I love it so much!" I squealed. The Charmander responded with a happy tone.

"Oh! We were just done researching him. He's yours to keep."

"Wow! No way! Thank you so much!"

"No problem! It seems to like you a lot! It was really feisty and kept putting a fight so I'm warning you in advance."

Oh boy.

"It looks like we are done for today. I want you to catch ten more Pokemon and come back later. Does that sound good? Here's your trainer ID and my card."

I walked back to the car where my mom was waiting.

"So how was it?" My mom asked me. "I even brought you some coffee."

"Thanks! It went really well, I even got the hot professor's number..."


	2. Introducing Your Team Leaders!

I waited in the waiting area of the Portland Pokemon Research Institute. There wasn't a lot of people waiting unlike last time. I decided to pull out Charmander from his pokeball. He was excited to be free. I picked him up by the sides and cuddled it in my arms.

"Are you happy now?" I smiled at Charmander. He gave me a look and scoffed. "Okay, I know mom didn't want you in the house anymore after you set the carpet on fire with your damned tail. But you're still cute. Ah, what can I do, man. Just keep your tail away from me-"

The doors opened up.

"Guys seriously! Why couldn't we get McDonalds'?! We haven't had any forever!" A young looking guy in leather walked in first. He was throwing his hands in the air.

"Because Professor Willow is making lunch for us today. At least he has more of a thought process than cheap quality trash." A person in blue coat walked in next.

"Screw this fam."

"You can screw me whenever," a dark skinned woman walked in next smirking. Her white coat/dress thing caught my attention. Super stylish!

"Haha you wish!"

"I'm surrounded by idiots," the blue muttered to herself. They all pulled out their ID's and showed them to the front desk worker. The woman in the coat made eye contact with me.

Oh crap! She made eye contact with me, this is so awkward... Charmander grunted a bit since the shock made me clutch him.

The woman smiled back, "cute Charmander, honey."

Suddenly, the guy in leather appeared in front of me without realizing. Like did he teleport?

"Dude! He is awesome! What's his name?"

"Uh... I haven't name him actually."

"Hmmm, Boss Lord seems cool I mean he's going to be a Charizard someday-"

"Guys! Let's go," the blue nudged towards the archway. They all left. I kept watching them until they left.

"What the hell, Boss Lord? What kind of name is that?" I asked Charmander. He just shrugged to himself.

"Gabby you are needed," the front desk worker announced.

Professor Willow leaned over his desk and smiled.

"Nice to see you again Gabby now tell me, what ten Pokemon did you catch?"

I pulled out the ten pokeballs, "Four Pidgeys, five Rattatas, and a Tangela. I actually name the Tangela, Ford Tangela. It was the best thing."

Right after the disappointed look of the collection of the common Pidgeys and Rattatas, Professor Willow seemed to be impressed with the pun.

"Alright. Thank you. Now there was a reason why I wanted you back the at the labs. My three apprentice assistants are starting a competition to see how many bases their team can claim. I honestly see it more as a turf war but they... Seriously insist that they want that, mostly Candela and Blanche. They all have their own researching styles so see what you like. Guys come in! I have someone for you to meet!"

The door opened and the three people I met in the lobby walked in. They all looked at me and smiled.

"You're the girl we just met!" said the woman in the coat with a smile.

"Well! Early bird catches the worm- I'm Spark, leader of Team Instinct!" the guy in leather pushed them to the side jutting his hand out to shake. "Pokemon are creatures with excellent intuition! I bet the secret to their intuition is related to how they hatch. You never lose when you trust your instincts! Plus you can't spell success without succ!"

Goodness this man is way too much. I love it. (He's actually cute also?!)

"Oh. My. God. Spark!" Pushed the person in blue making Spark fly to the ground. "Hello. I'm Blanche, the leader of Team Mystic. The wisdom of Pokemon is immeasurably deep. I am researching why it is that they evolve. With your calm analysis of every situation we can't lose!"

I'm not that smart, calm, cool, and collective like that... Not like, her. I thought to myself. Wait. Is Blanche a Mr. or Ms.?

"I'm sorry to ask you, but are you a man or a woman? Really, I'm sorry to be rude..." I asked Blanche. Spark and the other lady looked at each other and began to snicker. Blanche's face began to turn deep red. She facepalmed herself.

I... I think I'll call her a she...?

"I guess I'm next! I'm Candela, the leader of Team Valor. Pokemon are stronger than humans, and they're warm hearted too! I'm researching ways to enhance Pokemon's natural power in the pursuit of true strength! There's no doubt that the Pokemon our team have trained are the strongest in battle!"

"So Gabby, what will it be?" Asked Willow.

Umm...

Spark seems super cool. He's really funny and attractive... His ideals were not that bad.

Blanche's team ideals were not like me at all as I said so I took that off my list.

Candela though. She seems super cool. ... Okay I said the same thing especially with Spark, but she seems so strong. Her confidence shines. It's something I wish I had. I want to be strong and confident like her.

"Candela... I'm joining Team Valor."

Candela smiled. Then her smile became a big grin. She jumped and pointed at Blanche with both her hands, "OOOOOOOH BLANCHE, I GOT HER!"

What...

"Pshh, I have more members than you, Candela. Don't get so cocky like usual."

Spark with his face still on the ground scooted to the nearest corner of Professor Willow's office.

"Oh my word, I'm no match for them. But... That's okay(?)"

"Here Gabby, upon joining the team I'll give you a pin," Candela handed me a red Pokeball/Lightning mash up pin. [The gym symbol for Pokemon X and Y] I pinned it to my bag. "You and Charmander are going to be the bomb diggity! Here is my card if you want to contact me."

As soon as I left the office with the door clicking, I could hear them.

"So that was the Gabby you were talking about, Professor?" It sounded like Blanche.

"Yup."

"You're right. She does seem like she has a lot of potential despite you saying she's casual about Pokemon. Only a few people I have on my team can catch using one ball if they escaped the ball. She didn't play baseball before has she?"

"She was able to catch the Charmander in one throw, just like you Blanche. I was watching her. It's the exact same Charmander that was giving a fit."

"Really Pops?! I can't believe it! I scorched my ass when I even neared it on the examine table!" Spark exclaimed. "I need to ask her how she did it! Candela do you have her number?!"

"Oh my word, he wants my number!" I whispered to myself.

"Sorry Spark, I only gave her my number," Candela responded.

"Now I want to know how quickly she got those Pidgeys and Rattatas."

"I only met her just yesterday at 10 AM. She called me back at 3. Candela, maybe you need to go catch up to her before she leaves. I think she would be a great apprentice for you," Professor Willow said.

"An apprentice? Really, when I'm also your apprentice," Candela chuckled.

"OH! You know what I mean."

The door opened. I ran to the waiting area, hoping that they didn't see me eavesdropping on them.

Am I really that good as they think I am? No way. I just went to the park and they were just blooming with those two Pokemon. I was lucky I caught the Tangela.

"Gabby! I'm so glad you're still here!" Candela rushed towards me.

"Oh?" I tried. "What's up?"

"Let's meet up sometime. I would like to help you on your research of Pokemon! What do you say?"

"Uh, sounds good!" I cracked a smile.

"Okay! What's your phone number? ... Thanks! I'm free this Sunday. Is that good?"

"Yeah!"

"Thanks sweetie. See you soon."


	3. The Showdown at Pioneer Square!

"Actually my mom is working tonight so we couldn't drive to downtown Portland," I texted Candela. I sat outside the garage with Charmander running around the driveway. He ran out to the street. I got up and yelled for his attention.

"Charmander! Get back here you might get run over!"

Charmander looked at me and scoffed continuing his carefree life. I looked both ways and ran to pick him up. Thank goodness that our street didn't have too many cars driving by. Charmander struggled to be free and nicked my arm with his claw.

"Ouch! Charmander I'm only looking out for your safety! Please don't!"

My iPhone dinged. I picked up my phone to read the text.

"Don't worry! I can come pick you up! Where do you live?" said the text. I text her back my address. "Thanks! I'll see you in an hour. :)"

One hour later. A motorcyclist parked right in front of my house. It was a beautiful ride with chrome and scarlet. The rider took of their helmet and it was Candela, complete with helmet hair.

"Hey Candela!" I waved from my step that I was sitting on while Charmander laid out in the sunny driveway. She came up into my garage. "I want you to meet my mom. Mom!" I fetched my mom to the garage. "Mom, this is Candela. She is one of the scientists from the Pokemon Institute."

"Hello nice to meet you," my mom shook hands with Candela.

"Same to you."

"Mom, Candela and I were wondering if she can take me to a park or someplace downtown to go find Pokemon."

"That sounds good. What time will you be back?"

"About 7. How is that?""

"Sounds good. Gabby did you pack water?"

"Yup!"

"I'll see you later."

"Bye mom!"

I put Charmander in his pokeball. Candela gave me one of the helmets. I hopped on the ride.

"We will be going to the Japanese garden. It seems like a pretty place," Candela looked at her phone and looked up. "Have you been there before?"

"Yeah! It's really pretty! Wait you haven't been there? Where are you from?" I asked her.

"I originate from New York. Portland and Seattle... You guys got it lucky. Get both the forest and the city? That's amazing."

"Yeah, but Portland's weird," I retorted.

"...you're right. I've seen some crazies from just traveling to the Institute." Candela hopped on and revved the engine. "Hold on."

We were out of the neighborhood in what it seems to be in one second. We were on the freeway in five minutes when it should take fifteen. We zoomed by traffic.

"OH MY GOSH CANDELA WE ARE GOING TO GET A TICKET YOU ARE SCARING THE CRAP OUT OF MEEEEE!" I screamed. The rush hour traffic was closing in on us. She was slowing down, but not it was not slow enough. I continued to scream as she weaved through the traffic.

We made it to the garden. I couldn't stand on the ground so I fell.

"That was great!" Candela exclaimed. She looked at me and paused. "Hey, um..."

It took me fifteen minutes to calm down.

"Jeez you were screaming in my ear the whole time," Candela said to me right after we paid our admission. We headed straight for the Tea garden.

"I'm surprised that we didn't get a ticket," I shuddered.

"Whaaaat?! I was going over five more miles above the speed limit! I think you aren't used to the motorcycles."

Nope. Not believing that.

There was a rustle in the bushes. A tan Pokemon came out.

"Look a Sandshrew! Let's go!" Candela shouted. I reached for my Charmander, but Candela stopped me. "What are you doing? You don't need your Pokemon. You can just throw the ball."

"But some trainer told me to weaken the Pokemon before you catch it," I stated. But Candela shook her head.

"I bet it's someone from Blanche's team. She always tells them that but I don't think you have to. I even do it all the time and it's the same for both of us."

I threw the ball and it bounced off the Sandshrew's head. The ball opened and sucked it in.

"Great throw sweetie!" Candela smiled and gave me a side hug. The pokeball wobbled until the ball flashed.

I registered the Pokemon into my phone Pokedex.

"Sandshrew, the mouse Pokemon," the phone chimed. I stored the pokeball into my bag. We headed for a bench to sit on. I took out my water bottle and chugged.

"It's such a hot summer," I grumbled. "But I like the sun."

"I hear it's always rainy though," Candela responded. I nodded.

"That's the rest of the year," I smiled. "So tell me about you."

"Aw man! Where do you want me to start?" Candela scratched her head. I thought and shrugged to myself.

"How did you meet Professor Willow?"

"Well. Ah..." She started uneasy. "When all three of us started college we had our different careers we wanted to take. But we had to take certain science classes to get credit. Spark took the easy route. Blanche went to take the hardest class... I followed her." Candela started to chuckle. I stared at her waiting for her to explain herself. "But that isn't the point. The science classes had posters that had Professor Willow talking about the newly discovered Pokemon. Blanche was interested to know what the Pokemon were so she went. On TV I heard that these Pokemon were actually animals with superpowers so I had to go check them myself! Spark came along for the ride."

"Is this boy a slacker or?" I questioned Candela. She laughed.

"No he's not. He has his own specialty, but no one really sees it and they make fun of him for it," she cracked her knuckles. I scooted away an inch. "All three of us met when we were six so we have been good friends. Anyway back to the story, after listening to Professor Willow's talk Blanche went up to go ask questions; her being her usual self. Spark and I went with her. After talking for awhile Professor Willow just stared at us and said that we had potential. We had the potential to be a part of his research team. And there on out we became these Pokemon researchers."

 _BOOM._

In a far off distance, a billowing smoke rose from downtown. Both of us got up from the bench. We both looked at each other.

"What kind of Pokemon would that be?" I asked. Candela smirked.

"We'll just find out sweetie! Let's get on the motorcycle!"

"Oh... Oh hell no," I squirmed but insisted to follow. Candela's phone began to ring. Before we hopped on, Candela answered it.

"Hey Blanche what's up?" Candela grinned.

"Don't give me that Candela!" It _definitely_ sounded like Blanche. Blanche took a deep sigh. "Candela, you can't be this carefree! There's a group at Pioneer Square that is terrorizing the people with... Pokemon! We got to do something about it!"

"So... Are you coming along with Spark?" Candela toned down.

"Yes! But he's going to need a bit of convincing to peel away from the computer watching One-Punch Man."

"Come on guys seriously?! I'm getting to the good part!" Spark yelled in the background. "...ugh fine!"

"Alright. Gabby and I will see you there," Candela hung up and we left.

The streets were already empty once we arrived. Cars were turned over and the pavement was cracked.

"Who would do this?" I asked. Candela shrugged.

"We gotta find out sooner or later," she stated and kept moving forward.

Why am I here? Seeing all the damages already taken here. I can't do this. My mom would also freak out if she found out that I was in this mess.

"Uh, Candela?" I had to stop her. She turned around with a concerned look.

"Yes honey?"

"Do you think our Pokemon are stronger enough to handle whoever we are going to face?"

"Of course! Especially when Blanche and Spark get here we got it taken care of," Candela kept walking.

We finally get to Pioneer Courthouse Square. The half circle of steps where people say is now cracked. Light poles were fallen over. The Nordstrom building now had a huge gaping hole.

"Candela, I-I don't think-"

"Wh-why are you like this?" Candela turned around again this time with slight annoyance. "Come on Gabby! We got to get to the bottom of this. Plus who knows what kind of Pokemon they are using! ...Gabby we are Team Valor. We are the strongest and the bravest. We. Can."

"Who are you?!" Someone down in the far end of the opening appeared.

"The question is, who are you?!" Candela's voice rose with anger. The mysterious person laughed.

"I? It's more like _we_. _We are Team Rocket_ ," as the person spoke, a group of people followed . In the sun they all wore the same black uniform. Three of them threw their pokeballs and out came their own Pokemon."

I reached for Chamander but Candela stopped me.

"No, it's too dangerous for Charmander to come out. He has no experience to be fighting these kind of Pokemon."

I pull out my phone to record the Pokemon.

"Onyx, the rock snake Pokemon.

Gengar, the shadow Pokemon.

Poliwrath, the tadpole Pokemon."

Wow, I have to say.

Candela didn't say a word but she threw out her three Pokemon.

"Magmar, Arcanine, and Ninetales let's go!"

I immediately recorded them in my phone.

Team Rocket laughed even more.

"Fire type Pokemon? You might be at a disadvantage here! Poliwrath use surf!"

Water flooded the area. I lose balance and washed off on the cracked steps to watch. Every Pokemon washed off into different directions. Candela's three Pokemon suffered greatly.

"You dingus!" Cried one of the members. "Yeah, you might have injured her Pokemon but you hurt my Onyx too!"

"Okay! All of you! Use flamethrower to create a wall now!" Candela shouted. The Pokemon followed her command. Out of their mouths, like dragons, breathed fire creating a wall of flame between her team and the opponent's team.

"Onyx! Tail whip!"

The giant sized rock monster whipped its tail and the fire decreased in size. Candela clicked her tongue in frustration.

"Magmar use sunny day!" Magmar honked and it seemed like the few clouds in the sky disappeared. It began to get even hotter than it was before.

"Arcanine! Double team!" Candela waved. The large fire dog created many clones of itself.

"Onyx, rock slide!" Onyx used the rubble of the destruction to take out half of the Arcanine clones.

"Ninetales, confuse ray!" The nine tailed fox leaped into the air avoiding the attack and sent a ray. Two of the opponents began to wobble on their feet, but Poliwrath was able to dodge.

"Poliwrath, again! Surf!"

Crap I had to climb up to higher ground for this... Instead I got swept by my feet again. All the Arcanine clones disappeared and the wall of fire between the two teams disappeared. Magmar tried to stand up, but it fell on its face.

"Magmar come back!" Candela's pokeball shot an energy beam and took the fire duck into its safety. "Where's Blanche and Spark?!"

"Gengar! I want you to use destiny bond!" The shadow thing's smirk grew bigger. "Now shadow ball!" Gengar's smirk turned upside down when it couldn't even face the direction it wants to go. It injured itself in its confusion!

"Now Arcanine! Finish that Gengar with flamethrower!" A burst of fire came upon the shadow and got it. The Gengar fell flat... And so did Arcanine.

"What!?" I shouted. "What happened?!"

"Destiny bond! Shit!" Candela swore. Her face was red with determination. She gripped her pokeball and took back Arcanine. "If the user gets knocked out in one hit, the attacker goes down with it!"

"Do you have more Pokemon on you lady?" The main ringleader. I stared at her pokeball holster and she only had three Pokemon with her. I heard that the limit was six. The opponents threw more Pokemon outnumbering Ninetales.

"Candela! We have to back out!"

She whipped her head toward my direction. But before she could say a word, more Pokemon flashed right next to Ninetales. Blanche and Spark ran right next to Candela.

"Sorry we took so long," Spark wheezed. "Traffic was a bitch."

"Candela! What happened to the rest of your Pokemon?!" Blanche exclaimed and pointed at Candela's holster.

"I... Forgot them in the apartment," Candela mumbled. Blanche whacked her on the head.

"That's no excuse!"

"Onyx! Rock slide!" Screamed one of the members. The Onyx was still trying to balance itself so it hurt itself in its confusion and debris flew everywhere.

"Okay all of you!" Spark shouted. "Attack with your all!"

"Same with you all!" Blanche commanded.

It was the most fiercest battle I've seen. The movies didn't compare. Commands, flashes, debris, and heat were all over the place. It seemed like Blanche had a collection of water and ice typed Pokemon. Spark... To accessorize with his name he got electric types. I tried to register all the Pokemon in the field, but most of them kept falling left to right. The rest of the remaining were on our side.

"You will not see the end of us!" Shouted the other group and they ran away. We were all quiet until Spark broke the silence.

"Let's grab some Micky D's and head to the lab to heal up our Pokemon shall we?"

We were all still quiet but we continued on.


	4. To Be Strong!

A **/N: Sorry guys for the few day wait. I'm traveling at the moment, but I have been writing! So here's chapter 4! If you enjoy this story so far hit me up with some constructive criticism or praise!**

After getting McDonald's, Spark drove up to the Institute. We parked in the back in front of the garage and the ramp.

"We're here!" Spark exclaimed with a big grin. He was mostly talking to me since Blanche and Candela were too tense. Spark seemed to be ignoring the fact that a huge battle between them and a mysterious team called Team Rocket. Blanche was probably going through every idea she could muster up about what this group was and why they destroyed Pioneer Square, a place downtown where there were shops and restaurants where multiple people could be. Candela on the other hand...

We hopped out of the van. Candela grabbed my shoulder and gently pulled me to the side.

"Gabs, I want to talk to you," she said quietly.

"Hey guys! You coming in? Dinner is waiting!" Spark called out.

"We'll be there! Gabby, why were you afraid?" She asked me.

Well I could have gone full asshole on her and give her an angry answer which would be true to the both of us. But... I couldn't. She doesn't deserve it.

"They were strong! Plus you only brought three Pokemon with you and they had... I couldn't even count, everything was going too fast. You couldn't even let my Charmander fight so I-I felt like I couldn't do much!"

"Candela, you went head first into battle again," Blanche appeared from the side of the van. I covered my face in embarrassment.

"I can't believe you heard all of that," I mumbled into my hands.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed, Gabby. Candela this is the third time you did this. You should know better! Plus, from what I've heard and could assume is that you brought this girl into it! How could you? You can't expect her you do that!"

"But she's right, Blanche," I cut her from her scolding. She quickly whipped her head to look at me and gave me a baffled glare. "I-I mean. Where I was going... Candela told me to be brave and strong for the team..."

"You convinced her to be brave and strong?!" Blanche glared at Candela who awkwardly stood there. Blanche took a deep breathe and didn't look at me "Gabby go inside."

I shuffled to the other side of the van. The last thing I could hear from Blanche was a whisper "You don't deserve to be a leader."

I quickly opened the door to get inside and accidentally bumped into Spark.

"Oh crap! I didn't know you would be coming inside!" He shouted while still holding the bag of McDonalds food. A French fry dangled from his mouth.

"Were you listening to the conversation too?!" I exclaimed and covered my face again in embarrassment. "Oh, how embarrassing!"

"Blanche and Candela are always at it with each other," Spark smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "It's usually entertaining to watch, but this time it doesn't seem to be usual." He sighed.

"What do you mean?" I asked, but he jutted his finger onto my lips to shut me up. He waved his hand.

"Come to my lab, I'll explain."

We entered his lab. I would imagine him to be a slob, but he actually wasn't messy at all. A few coats laid on the floor. Several posters were plastered all around ranging from rock bands, EDM musicians, and several anime that I also enjoy. Examples were One-Punch Man and Naruto.

We pass by multiple glowing boxes. One had a poster above it with a kitten hanging from a tree branch with words spread across the sky that said "Hang in there!" I peered inside the box and it held a nest of eggs in it.

"Oh, these are my incubators. Not sure which ones these are. They were giving to us."

We sat at the table by the wall and pulled out our orders from the McDonalds bag.

"So what do you mean that it's not going as usual between those two?" I reminded Spark. He raised his eyebrows and snapped his fingers.

"Oh yeah! I forgot. Don't tell Candela this but, she has this HUGE crush on Blanche."

"What?!"

"Psh! Well isn't obvious? Candela always puts on a crazy ass feat to show off to Blanche and is always following her. But she is always distracting Blanche while she is studying so she gets slapped in the face often. She has been going after Blanche since freshman year... Right after I stopped liking Blanche. Heheh," he chuckled to himself.

Juicy gossip. Me likey.

"But Candela is going too far nowadays. This is her third time going head first into dangerous situations. Blanche even went to Willow asking him what to do about it. I hope we don't fall apart."

"Candela should go to Blanche about her feelings! Candela is the brave one right?!"

Spark raised his feet and rested them on the table and drank his soda from the straw. He looked at me.

"Eh."

"Eh?! What do you mean eh?! Are you Canadian?"

He stared at me blankly and stopped slurping his soda.

"You knew right off the bat..."

"I guess I used my, INSTINCT!" I pointed at him. He laughed so hard that soda came through his nose. He raised his hand to high five.

"Dude, GG. You're freaking awesome."

"Really? Thanks!" Oh my word he said that I was awesome! He's so cute!

"Candela always wanted to be strong. If it wasn't that one day when we were six we wouldn't be friends-"

Blanche walked in.

"There you are! I was wanting my salad," she strides toward the bag, but Spark took it before she could grab it and wagged his finger.

"How about a please?"

"SPARK. PLEASE. CAN I HAVE MY SALAD?" Blanche growled. Spark giggled and handed her own bag. Blanche hesitantly grabbed it and walked off.

"Hey! Where's Candela?" Spark called out right before she exited the door. Blanche paused and looked over her shoulder.

"... I don't know," she shuts the door behind her.

"Women," he grumbled to himself. "Well I should go find her and give her her hamburger. Wanna come?"

I got up and followed him down the hallway. We reached to Candela's lab and knocked on the door. No answer. Spark immediately opened the door. Candela was practicing her punches on her punching bag. She was breathing heavily and sweating on both sides of her face.

"Yo! We got your Big Mac!" Spark grinned. We walked right in. Her lab consisted of workout machines attached to computers. After knowing what her motorcycle looks like, she obsessed with the color red. But the red was just enough to accent the white like her iconic coat.

As we approached Candela, her arms were covered with burn marks. I didn't want to stare too much at them so I glanced up to see her face. But I realized that she wasn't sweating. Tears have already streamed down her face. Candela quickly wiped them with her arms and received her hamburger.

"Thanks Spark," Candela worked up a smile. Spark nudged her side.

"No prob, candle," he winked. She rolled her eyes.

BLAM!

We all turned around to see Blanche at the door.

"Guys you probably want to see this."

We arrived at the main laboratory. All the scientists there surrounded the large main screen watching.

"What's going on?" I asked Blanche. She didn't reply but continued inside.

"This is KTW News. Today at 1, a mysterious group came into Pioneer Square and began to cause havoc. Earlier was a small competition for the Pokemon 'gym' until they group started to steal the Pokemon from the competition."

The scientists began to mutter among themselves.

"They have used bombs and other Pokemon to create the disturbance. Here is some footage earlier this day."

The footage showed what it seems to be members from Team Valor fighting against Team Mystic for the gym. It wasn't anything compared to what happened with us. But suddenly a bomb went off by the mall center. People began to run. Their faces were stricken with horror. Team Rocket were stealing Pokemon left and and right with nets and tasers with intimidating looks until the footage cut off.

"This just in, we have received other footage from a battle one hour later."

The footage they played was the insane showdown between the team leaders and Team Rocket. Surprisingly enough they didn't show footage of Candela vs. Team Rocket. I thought that was not bad for someone with disadvantages.

"It seems like the three fighting are the team leaders of Valor, Mystic, and Instinct. Yeah they just started creating Pokemon trainer teams for their research..."

The scientists turned around and began to applaud Blanche, Spark, and Candela who was leaning on the entry way frame away from everyone in her workout uniform.

I checked my phone to see the time. It was about six.

"Crap I gotta get home," I said to myself. I ran over to Candela.

"Let me guess, it's time for you to go?" Candela asked. I nodded. "I guess this time we should take the van."

This time Candela was not breaking her time record of her motorcycle. Thank goodness.

"Gabby. I have to apologize to you," Candela broke the silence in the van. She has been awfully quiet for someone who seemed they got life together. I thought to myself thinking what to say.

"Candela. You really don't have to apologize," I stared out the window. "I need to be more brave and more confident. I look up to you. I want to be like you. You are so gorgeous and you don't care what lies ahead in life."

I looked at her. Her confident smile was gone. She was giving only a weak smile, but she couldn't keep it up for long.

"Thank you for thinking about me like that-"

"Hell, I want to say you were really good defending your Pokemon. Creating a wall of fire between the enemy? Confusing the enemy? That was amazing!"

"Thank you. Heh, for a matter of two days we just met I can't believe we are this close to each other," she muttered.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I don't show this side to most people. I want to be strong. Ever since Spark saved me and Blanche from a dog attack. I couldn't bear to think that I couldn't do anything. So I joined every martial arts school to be the best that I could be. Whenever someone tried to make fun of Spark, I would beat the crap outta them. I've read the book The Art of War by that one dude which I stole from Blanche's shelf once. She doesn't know to this day. I've learned how to pick myself and the others up. But I still feel like it's not enough."

"I think you are doing just fine," I stated. "If it weren't for you being yourself, even when you weren't interacting with me I wouldn't be on Team Valor with you. Please. I bet there are several people in the world that look up to you. You know what, I'm going to be a strong trainer like you! I'm going to train Charmander to be strong as your Ninetales or whatever it's called!"

Candela looked at me and gave me her iconic smile. It gave me relief that she was back to herself again.

"Heh! Are you sure? Charmander is a tiny lizard!"

We arrived at my house. I took a deep breath and began to smile.

"Hey when are we meeting again?" I asked Candela. She shrugged to herself.

"I dunno. We'll see. Text me when you're in Portland and see if the four of us could meet up."

I waved goodbye and watched her leave. I pulled out my pokeball and began to think. I'm going to be the best like I never was.


End file.
